Michelle Forbes Back As A Regular For Season 2 Of The Killing

Like it or not, AMC's The Killing is returning for a second season, and now it's been confirmed that one of the principle stars from last season will be back as well. TVLine has confirmed that Michelle Forbes, who earned an Emmy nomination playing Mitch Larsen, the grieving mother of slain teen Rosie Larsen, will be back as a series regular for season two. Whether anybody will actually be watching after being burned by last season's finale remains to be seen...

The Killing took a lot of heat for spinning its wheels without resolving much during its first season, and that ire spiked to white-hot levels when the season finale failed to answer the single question underlying the entire season: who the hell killed Rosie Larsen? Showrunner Veena Sud spent the weeks following the finale in a mixture of damage control and seeming denial, insisting that they had a plan and promising to resolve the Rosie mystery in season two. Sud reiterated that point to TVLine: "We will solve the investigation of who murdered Rosie Larsen -- all will be revealed -- and there will also be a second case that emerges."

However, Forbes' presence as a regular does raise some questions about what the sophomore year of the controversial drama will look like. If the long-term structure of the show (assuming it continues) is to move on to different cases each season, it seems like Forbes would more likely be signed on as a recurring character, rather than a regular. That she is the latter suggests it may still take a while before they get around to resolving Rosie's murder. Otherwise why would Mitch remain part of the story? Or perhaps the new case that is introduced will also somehow involve her? That seems like a bit of a stretch from a narrative standpoint.

Finally, the article also provides a few details about two new characters who will be introduced in season two. First up is Lt. Carlson, a "clean-cut, well-dressed lawman in his 50s who tends to keep tabs on which way the political winds are blowing." Sounds like the sort of guy who may wind up in a position of authority over series protagonists Linden (Mireille Enos) and Holder (Joel Kinnaman). The other new character is Alexi, a tattooed and pierced 19-year-old Polish-American of the bad-boy bent. He's described as a "frightening teen who can turn on a dime emotionally." There's no way of knowing whether these new chaps will factor in to the new storyline or if they'll hold some key part of the truth about Rosie's murder.

The Killing doesn't have an official premiere date, but it will probably return in 2012. When it does, it's got a steep climb ahead of it to win over the many viewers it alienated with the awful, closure-free finale. There are elements of the show I enjoyed, but I don't know that I can be wooed back. And I know I'm not alone in that.